Tradition
by griffy door girl
Summary: Hermione left the wizarding world soon after the defeat of Voldemort, to go live a more quiet life. Seven years later, however, she runs into an old friend. Can this old friend bring her back to the place she loved and grew up in? DH SPOILERS NOW!
1. Hermione

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, TAXI!" The young woman ran after a cab in the London pouring rain. Frustrated that it didn't stop to let her in, she stomped her foot. _I'd rather be flying a broom than waiting ages for one of these stupid cars to stop and take me back to my flat. Complete rubbish, they could at least stop for three seconds, maybe two if they're in that much of a hurry. I'm in a hurry too, mind them. _

"TAXI!" A male's voice suddenly came out of nowhere and a man himself stood next to her. "Need a ride?" He asked her, noticing her flushed appearance. She observed his own appearance: Dark black hair which looked like it hadn't been brushed in all of its life; Much taller than herself; Then the eyes…

The eyes are possibly what caught her off guard the most. They looked almost familiar. Glasses with spots of rain on the lenses sat on his nose. The color, which she couldn't tell what shade they were, due to the rain, looked dark, as if they could possibly be blue or…

"Are you getting in or not?" He asked, sitting in the back and looking questioningly at her.

"Uh…no, that's quite alright, I'll just…get a different ride, no offense."

"None taken, but you still can't do that."

"And why not?"

"You're getting soaked. I'm not letting you just stand in the rain. I've already seen you try to hail a cab before, you're pathetic. You'll be standing out here for the rest of your life."

"Hey!-," She interjected. He laughed a little, patted the seat on the other side, and said, "It's on me. Free taxi ride in London is hard to come by, these days."

She pursed her lips and crossed her arms, thinking it over. After a few seconds, she reluctantly agreed and got in. The taxi drove off and when asked where her destination was, she answered the driver. Then it became quiet. She could feel the man's eyes on her and in return, she eyed him.

"Not to be rude, but why are you staring at me like that?" The woman asked him exasperated. That look that he was giving her was far too recognizable.

"Oh, I uh…I wasn't staring at you, I was staring out your window." The man gestured outside. The young lady continued to stare at him.

"No, you weren't. You were staring at _me_. And frankly, I don't like strangers staring at me, so please, do not stare at me anymore." She said bluntly.

"Well tell me your name, and I'll tell you mine, and then we won't be strangers anymore, now will we?" The guy said seriously. She sighed. _This guy doesn't know when to quit, doe's he? I'm obviously not interested in him. _

But instead of blowing him off, like her head told her to, she put out her hand and replied; "Hermione Granger."

The guy squinted at her and then put his face in his hands for a second or two. He finally put out his hand and they shook. "Harry Potter." This time _she _was the one who gaped and scoffed.

"Stop the car!" She demanded. The car came to a halt at a stop light and she opened her door, then walked as fast as she could away from it, over to the sidewalk. The man who was no longer a stranger scooted towards the car door she had gone through, about to run after her.

"HEY MATE, YOU NEED TO PAY!" The driver held out his hand.

"Oh, yeah, right, um, here…" The man dug through his pocket and gave twenty pounds to the out-reached hand. He slammed the door and ran after the woman.

"HERMIONE! WAIT!" _I am not going to lose her again. _

The girl didn't stop or turn around, but instead kept on walking, trying to lose him in the crowd. He wouldn't stop yelling and walking after her, and it was getting on her nerves. _My GOD, the guy really DOESN'T know when to quit! _She came to a complete stop finally, and he ran up to her, panting. She gave him no chance to talk; She slapped him. He rubbed his stinging cheek and asked, "What was that for?"

"THAT was for another STUPID try on attempting to be HARRY BLOODY POTTER. How DARE you pretend to be somebody who was VERY close to me, JUST to get to me! If you're from Witch Weekly, just tell them to QUIT, because I don't find you all, sending people out to pretend you're my BLOODY BEST FRIEND OF SEVEN PLUS YEARS, UNTIL I GOT SCARED AND LEFT that _PLACE_ behind, very BLOODY FUNNY!" She finished her rant. He looked at her unbelievingly.

"Since when have you started swearing? You hated when Ron would say it back in Hogwarts." He said. She scoffed.

"Impressive. No one has _ever_ done that much research to know that I didn't start saying 'bloody' until just recently."

"I don't have to do any research, you're my best friend."

"Go tell it to someone who believes you."

"No, really! Listen, in first year, we met on the Hogwarts Express, you told Ron he had dirt on his nose and fixed my glasses, then in second year, you were petrified by the basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets. You also made polyguice for me and Ron, so we could get into the Slytherin Common Room. After second year, third year came, and you and Ron both risked your lives for me. You had a time-turner, we went back and saved Buckbeak, and Sirius too. Fourth year was the Yule ball, I went with one of the Patil twins and Ron asked you, but you said no, because you were going with Victor Krum. Ron got terribly jealous, you yelled at him, et cetera, et cetera, you two found out you loved each other but never did anything about it. The Triwizard cup was also that year and I won it.

Cedric Diggory was killed by Voldemort. I had to go against Voldemort in the graveyard. My parents were there. Everyone who had once been killed by Voldemort, were there, supporting me. I escaped him that time. Fifth year the Order was formed, the Order of the Phoenix. We went to fight in the Department of Mysteries, Ron got attacked by brains, and we fought Death Eaters. Bellatrix Lestrange was there. She pushed Sirius through the veil. He died.

Sixth year the death eaters attacked Hogwarts. I was with Dumbledore, getting a horcrux, when it happened. When we got to the school, Dumbledore's Army was there, and they were all fighting. It was your idea for Dumbledore's Army in the first place, and it might have been one of the most brilliant ideas you've ever come up with. Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, was supposed to kill Dumbledore. He couldn't do it. Snape ended up killing Professor Dumbledore and then he fled with the other follower's of Voldemort.

Seventh year we set off to find Voldemort and the other horcrux's. Once we found all of the horcrux's, it would be easier to kill Voldemort. You, me, and Ron all went together. When we found Voldemort he was weak. We fought for one last time, Hermione, and there was that prophecy about 'One must die while the other lives', but he was the one who died. I killed him. We went back and we were all heroes. Remember that? We were on the cover of every paper in the wizarding world.

And while I was reading one of those papers, you had left. You were gone. I had no idea where you went to, you just left, and haven't been back since.

Seven years later I run into you here. And I'm not going to let you run off again, Hermione. You hurt too many people. You can't do that to any of us again…or me…

So let's go have a cup of coffee and talk for a bit, okay?"

To his relief, she didn't slap him again. Instead, she nodded slowly and said quietly, "Okay."


	2. Harry

Hermione Granger sat in a coffee house, opposite Harry Potter. He set two coffee's down and Hermione took it, her hands warming up from the hot cup. They were both quiet, with Harry staring at Hermione and Hermione staring out of the window. He looked her over; Her eyes were the same warm brown; Her hair was curly, but not too curly, and it was tied up in a high ponytail; and she was just a little above petite.

"So…" Hermione started.

"So…?" Harry said. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Tell you what?"

"That you wanted out?"

"Oh, um…" Hermione tried to remember what the reason was. Maybe, she thought, it was because she didn't want to live in a world where there's so danger all around, too much magic. Maybe she didn't want to be in the spotlight for once, after she and Harry and Ron had all defeated Voldemort together. Or maybe it was because she wanted to live a muggle life, like her parents did- although, she thought, that couldn't be possible because she loved magic when it could save her time and energy. Maybe it was all those reasons altogether.

"I just…I didn't want to live there anymore, Harry, as bad as that sounds. I didn't like being practically mobbed by a crowd in Hogsmeade every time I went there. I didn't like being on the cover of every single wizarding newspaper there is. The first time was really exciting, sure, but then it was just…it's hard to explain. I didn't want to live in a world where there was so much danger.

The Death Eaters were everywhere, wanting revenge against us for killing Voldemort, and even though the chance of Death Eaters coming to find me out in the muggle world is still around, it's less likely that they will. Even though I miss it terribly back with all of you- you, Ginny, Ron- I just want to live here."

_Why did I have to say that?_ Hermione thought when she noticed Harry's hurt expression.

"That still doesn't explain why you just left and never talked to any of us until now. And 'until now' wasn't even supposed to happen." He said, making Hermione feel guilty.

Hermione thought for a while on why she didn't want to tell them, then explained, "I thought that if I told one of you, you guys would stop me. And this was something that I had to do. I needed to get out of there. Also, if anyone accidentally slipped something about how I left the wizarding world, the newspapers might have a field day and the Death Eaters would come and look for me." Harry looked at her unbelievingly. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're a coward."

Hermione frowned. "How?"

"You left without telling us because you were afraid of someone finding out, therefore the death eaters would come after you. You were running away from the wizarding world because it was "too dangerous" and filled with the people we had already destroyed the majority of. You already told yourself that the chance of death eaters in the muggle world was still around, so what does it matter?"

"It was my only option and I had to act upon it by myself. I was scared!"

"How do you think _we_ felt? One morning we all wake up, you're _gone,_ no note, none of your clothes, not your wand, _nothing_. Ron didn't eat or sleep. Ginny didn't eat or sleep and she cried like I've never seen her cry before. _I _couldn't eat or sleep.

And then after a few months, we gave up on trying to find you, interrogating people if they've seen you, we just stopped. You were no where. We thought something had happened to you, like a death eater- the THING you were most afraid of, the cause of why you left- had somehow broke the security barrier we had around the burrow, and kidnapped you. And now, I find out that that wasn't the case.

You had left us because you wanted to. You didn't even let us know you were safe."

"But I'm talking to you now, aren't I? I didn't run away from you, even though I really did want to."

Harry scoffed. "You ran into me in downtown London! You didn't have a choice, Hermione! How many years have you been here?"

"Seven years."

"Seven years and you didn't even _write_."

"I'm sorry, really, I am. I should've. It was foolish of me not to, but I was just so busy and I was trying to forget everything. It's a lot of stress, you should know, keeping up with the person everyone knows you as. I needed time away from that. I know it's a lot to ask but can we just forget about all of it? Pretend that I didn't even leave?"

Harry thought this over. Here she was: his best friend of so many years, the girl who he had thought of as his sister, who he worried about everyday since her disappearance. He didn't know when the next chance of seeing her again would be. If she left again, he probably wouldn't see her ever again in his life, and he certainly didn't want that.

"It's going to be impossible for a while, but we can work on it. We'll forget about it eventually." Harry said, shrugging.

Hermione sighed and smiled a little. "I really missed you, Harry. I missed you all so much. Every day I would think about you guys but I just never got the chance to write or to visit you all."

"We missed you too." Harry said, ignoring more of Hermione's excuses. Hermione smiled gratefully when she heard the sincerity in his voice when he said that they had missed her also.

"Ginny, you said, couldn't sleep or eat anything…she doesn't hate me, does she?" Hermione asked after a while.

"You're not going to run away again, are you? Leave us all behind and never talk to us again?" Harry asked.

"No- never again." Hermione put a hand up like making a vow.

"Then no, she won't hate you. She'll definitely be surprised to see you but-,"

"Woah, wait. See her?"

"Like I said, I'm not letting you go again, so of course everyone is going to know about you coming back, and will want to see you. She'll be one of those people. You've got to see her, Hermione." Harry said firmly.

Hermione sighed. "I'd like to see her, very much so. It's just…it will be a little awkward around her, since I haven't seen her for a while, that's all."

"You could've prevented that." Harry mumbled.

Hermione felt a pang of guilt when he said that, but ignored it and asked cheerfully, "So…how are you and her doing? Good? When I left, you two were going pretty steady."

Harry nodded his head proudly. "We're engaged."

Hermione's eyes widened and she smiled, squeezing his arm. "Oh, Harry, that's great!"

"I popped the question to her last spring." Harry said, grinning to himself.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there." Hermione said sadly.

"Well you're here now…and that's all that matters." Harry said. Hermione nodded.

They both sat in silence for a few moments until Hermione asked cautiously, "How's Ron? Is he good?"

Harry looked up and heaved a sigh. "How about you?" He asked, switching the subject fast. "What are you doing these days? Anything new? Of course there's something new, we haven't talked in-,"

"Harry." Hermione's voice pleaded for him to tell her. He let out another sigh and looked at her.

"He and Lavender got married just around two years ago." He waited for her reaction, expecting a tear, maybe even anger towards Lavender. When Hermione had found out back in sixth year that Ron and Lavender were dating, she had called Lavender a tramp, and while Harry scolded her for it, he wasn't too pleased with Ron's choice of a girlfriend.

But instead, she said while taking in a deep breath, "Oh, well that's um…that's great, he and I have finally found someone." She looked away, out of the window again.

It was a shame, Harry thought. Ron and Hermione, back in Hogwarts, had had feelings for each other, but nothing ever came across where they admitted it. They flirted a bit. They showed their affections for the other one in different ways. But it didn't matter.

All of their flirting and hints hadn't mattered and they were with different people. Hermione had never really showed how she felt until she unleashed a herd of canaries on Ron, after she had seen Lavender and him snogging. She was always hoping maybe he would stop being so thick, or stubborn, or whatever it was that had stopped him from telling her his feelings for her, and tell her one day, "I love you, Hermione."

_"They really are so thick and impossible. They need to get together." Ginny said, leaning against Harry on the couch. On the other side of the common room, Hermione and Ron sat at a table, studying. Harry swore he saw Ron's foot lightly tap Hermione's and Hermione's tap back. _

_"That's the most I've ever seen Hermione flustered over someone. She wasn't even that flustered over _Krum_. It'll only be a matter of time before those two will realize we don't forever, especially in times like these, and they'll admit their feelings. And then it'll all be perfect." Harry said._

But it hadn't been perfect. Ron and Hermione were impossible to deal with. Even the tie-Ron-and-Hermione-to-chairs-in-the-Room-of-Requirement didn't work.

"You have too, then? You've found your erm…certain someone?" Harry asked.

"Uh, yeah…yeah, I did. His name is Rob." Hermione said happily.

"That's great!" Harry said, lying, while smiling a sad smile that Hermione didn't notice. _She really has gotten oblivious._ "Muggle?"

"Yes, actually, but he's used to magic. His grandmother, who is a witch, married a muggle, and their child- his dad- didn't have any magic. His dad married a witch, but Rob never got any of her magical genes. She used magic around the house. He didn't mind that I'm a witch. In fact, he's quite happy I am. He says he wants to follow the tradition of male muggles marrying female witches."

Harry blinked a few times. "Uh, explain that again? Start from "His gradmother, who is a witch", please?"

Hermione laughed. "And _that's_ why I had to make a thousand potions for you and Ron in our whole school period." The two laughed together and Hermione grinned to herself watching Harry shake his head and chuckle lightly. "So Harry, how's life going for you? I already know you and Ginny are getting married, which I'm sure you're loads happier, just due to that, but tell me what else is going on."

"You recall the Chudley Cannons, right?" Hermione nodded. "I'm the seeker for them." Hermione, for the second time in one day, proudly twitched the corners of her mouth, beaming at Harry.

"That's excellent! You've always been brilliant at Quidditch."

"It's nice, being famous for something you like to do, instead of having to kill someone. It's not 'Harry Potter's Fight Against Voldemort' on the covers of all the tabloids now, but instead 'Harry Potter Leads Chudley Cannons to Victory'. Much more rewarding."

"I bet it is." Hermione said, nodding. "Is there anything else you've done?"

Harry looked deep in thought for a bit. "Oh yeah, I helped open a Quidditch Academy."

"Oh really? How'd you help?"

"Well, I got together a few other Quidditch players, asked them if they would help teach if I were to open a type of Quidditch school, and most of them said yes. I went to the minister of magic, asked for permission of opening one, he agreed to it, and now the Quidditch Academy is one of the top schools in the wizarding world. It's a relatively cheap fee to get in. And yes, there's an academic program in it too, Hermione." Harry added after he saw Hermione's look of disapproval while explaining a sport-only school.

She laughed. "Good, I was starting to really wonder if that's anything to be proud of, but it now sounds like it is."

"I'm definitely proud of all that I've done in the past few years. How about you?"

Hermione shrugged. "Rob insists I don't work, and I hate it. I don't like just sitting around, not doing anything. I secretly go out, looking for jobs. He still doesn't know, after a few years of being together."

"How did you two meet each other?" Harry asked.

"There was this writing institute that my mum had told me about, so I went to it because, as you know, I'm a bookworm, and I've always wanted to write a book. He, too, loves to write, and we met each other there. He asked me to dinner, I said yes, and we've been dating for around three years now, and are soon to be married, like I told you before."

"So why did you stop writing?"

"Oh, well, I was getting really frustrated with my lack of writing skills, so Rob told me to stop because he didn't like seeing me stressed out, and that I should just not worry about it. He said he'll make the money to pay our rent, buy our food, those type of things. I hate feeling this dependent on someone."

Harry laughed and shook his head. "You being dependent on someone doesn't even sound like you."

Hermione looked at him sadly. "I've changed a lot." She said, looking down at her hands clasped together on the table.

"I know you have. We all have. It's what happens over a long amount of time." Harry said reasonably. Hermione nodded, still looking at her hands, wondering when Harry got this smart, this wise. "It sounds like you've got your life together."

She finally looked up at him. "Now I do."


	3. Ginny

_Look lady, _

_My pygmy puff is not hurting your so-called 'pet Hungarian horntail', which, just so you know, I haven't seen, hm, _ever_. Stop complaining about my pygmy puff, otherwise I'm going to start complaining to the ministry about your Hungarian horntail, understood? DON'T have a nice day._

_Your lovely neighbor,_

_Ginny Soon-To-Be-Potter_

Ginny slammed her quill down. "Take this to the ogre next door." She said to Hedwig, and the snowy owl snatched the letter Ginny had outreached in her hand, into its beak, and flew off to the left. _I'm so stressed. Look at this mess. Hey, that rhymes…I want sex. HAHA, IT STILL RHYMES! _Ginny laughed to herself at her own joke in her head. She looked around hers and Harry's bedroom. Harry's quidditch class plans lay sprawled on the desk, Ginny's magical iron board ironed her clothes in the middle of the room, and the big stain on the carpet stood out more than ever.

Ginny remembered how that stain had gotten there. Ron and Hermione had been over, for a flat-warming party for Harry and Ginny, and Ron had drunkenly spilled some of his Magical Margarita ("I only had one, I swear!"), leaving a big lime green spot. Hermione had scolded him, drunk too ("Ronald, I saw you chugging them like the dementors chug out other people's souls!") and the two hadn't gotten along very well the rest of the night.

Hermione.

Why had she been managing to creep into Ginny's memory again? Not that Ginny didn't remember her. She _was _her best friend since Ginny's fourth year, Hermione's fifth. She thought, though, that she had succeeded in not thinking about her too often, not worrying about where she was, or who she was to that day. She obviously was someone with nerve, to leave everyone without a goodbye, and never talk to them after. _Now you're just getting yourself even more stressed out and angry by thinking of HER. _

Ginny sighed. _Harry better get home. I really could use sex right now to make me stop worrying about everything._ She spotted her silk robe, the robe that meant whenever she was wearing it that she wanted _it_. The time was now two in the afternoon. Harry would of course notice that she was not in her usual Saturday afternoon attire, if she slinked into it before he got home, just to find her in it. So she got up and slipped it on.

"Hey GINNY? You here?" Harry called from the downstairs fifteen minutes later. Ginny had never appreciated his timing more.

"Gin?" He called out again, this time from the kitchen. Ginny came around the corner, leaning against the frame of the entrance to the kitchen, and oh-so seductively said, "Hey stranger."

Indeed there was a stranger in her kitchen, but definitely not Harry: A girl who looked not too much older than Ginny herself sat with wide brown eyes at the table, trying not to choke on her brownie from laughing, her face paling in contrast to her brown hair. Harry's bum stood out of the fridge while he was bent down, scavenging through the fridge. He turned around with a brownie in his mouth also and, unlike the unknown yet startlingly familiar girl, really did start coughing.

Harry looked at Ginny. Ginny looked at Hermione. Hermione looked back and forth between Harry and Ginny. Finally the staring contest was done, when Ginny backed up, out of the kitchen. Hurried pounds on the steps were heard and then the slam of a door. Hermione sighed. "I should go," She said. "I've already upset her enough as it is, just by coming over."

"No." Harry said quickly. "Don't. I didn't just drag you here to see her, for her to run upstairs like that." Hermione reluctantly sat back down. Harry pushed the tray of brownies towards her. "I swear there will be no more choking tonight." He said light-heartedly. She tried to smile.

"Harry?" She asked, watching his retreating body on its way upstairs.

He turned around. "Yeah?"

"Tell her I'm sorry. Because I really am."

"She knows you are." Harry said reassuringly before walking upstairs to talk to his fiancé.

Ginny felt the spot next to her on the bed cave in. "Harry…" She whined. He pulled her over to him. "Is that really her down there? At our kitchen table? Eating…_brownies_?" She sniffled.

Harry nodded. "It's really her."

"Why is she here?"

"I was thinking maybe you would want to see her. After all, it's only been, what, seven years?"

"Hey, I was planning on seeing her the next day after she left, but did she come back? _No_."

"Gin," Harry tipped her chin up so she was looking at him. "Listen. I ran into her in downtown London. She tried to get away when I told her who I was, but I followed her, and convinced her that I'm not another one of the people who pretend they're Harry Potter. We had coffee and talked- that's why I'm so late, sorry, by the way- and she asked if I could forget about the whole thing. Now, I'm willing to try. I want everyone to be willing to try, to make an effort, to forget that she ever left us-,"

"Oh yeah, like that'll happen. She's only been gone for seven years. She didn't miss _anything_." Ginny drawled sarcastically.

"She missed a lot, she knows that. We all know that of course. But there's a thing called catching up and she and I spent two hours of doing so back in London. She wants to start over with us, Gin, I know she does. She wants to have what she ran away from again. Without your support on welcoming her back, that won't be possible." Harry said reasonably.

Ginny hated when Harry was right. She pouted. "But I wanted _sex_." Harry frowned.

"Bad timing, love. Maybe later. But as for now, I need you to go down there, be the Weasley that you are- brave, merciful, and understanding- and talk to her."

"Alright. Here I go." And with that, Ginny walked out of the bedroom, down the steps, and into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Hermione repeated over and over again, even after ten minutes of Ginny saying "Apology accepted, Hermione!"

"Hermione, if you keep on saying that, I'll never forget that you were gone for over five years." Ginny said this time. Hermione shut up and hugged her friend again.

"You know I missed you, right, Ginny? It really was horrible when Rob and I got engaged and there was nobody to celebrate with, no best friends or anyone except my mum and my dad." Hermione said.

"You got engaged…" Ginny said.

"Oh. I can't believe I haven't told you in the…half-hour that we've been talking." Hermione said.

"You got engaged…" Ginny repeated.

"Yes, I did, actually."

Ginny let out a little squeak and smiled at the rock on Hermione's engagement finger. Harry noted that it was much like the smile _he _had when Hermione had told him. "That's wonderful, Hermione. Tell me about him…"

"Well his name is Rob and he's…"

Harry stopped listening to the girl's conversation to get the letter from Hedwig, who had just floated into the kitchen onto the counter.

"If it's from the crazy lady next door, tell her I'm going to send BuckBeak over there after I put ferrets in her bed. Then we'll see who's the one with the most magical creature." Ginny wittily said.

"It's not from her." Harry shook his head.

"Oh, who then?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Um…" Harry instantly recognized Ronald Weasley's handwriting.

_Harry, mate, (and Ginny, if you're reading this)_

_Why did I ever get married to the dumbest witch of our age? _

_-Ron._

Harry quickly crumbled up the paper and threw it out of the open window. "Uh, nobody. Nobody sent us a letter."

"Harry, that's not possible. I just saw a letter. You seemed very engrossed in it. Who was it from?" Ginny testily asked.

"Nobody, it was just a junk letter, that's all. Crazy Daily Prophet still asking to do interviews with me, seven years after I've defeated Voldemort. They're crazy!" Harry chuckled nervously.

"You're lying, now tell me who that-,"

"SHE'S BLOODY INSANE!" Ronald Weasley half-shouted as he burst through the kitchen door loudly. Harry groaned. Ginny's eyes got wide. Hermione looked at the man, clearly puzzled as to why he too, just like Harry had, looked like she had known him for the longest half of her life. "Harry, why didn't you reply to my letter but instead threw it out the window?" Ginny now glared at her fiancé.

"I-I-I…what letter, Ron?" Harry stuttered.

"You know, the one you threw out the window, asking why-," But Ron's breath was caught in his throat and he was suddenly speechless when he saw the prettiest girl he had ever seen in his life. She reminded him of someone. Someone that was once very dear to him. "I'm-I'm sorry, I don't believe we met. I would've remembered such a pretty face." _Why are you stuttering? _Ron asked himself in his head.

He hadn't stuttered before around any girl. Except…

Oh no.

No. _No, no, no, it can't be…she can't be…_

Hermione breathed deeply, staring at the man who stood there, his hand extended for a handshake, a greeting. She knew him. Unfortunately, she concluded harshly, she knew him. She needed some time to see his face again so soon. She needed to relieve the compression that was tightening upon her stomach. She needed to get away from here as soon as she could.

Hermione quietly asked Ginny, "Ginny, dear, where's your bathroom?"

"Up the stairs, take a right, second door on your left."

And for the second time in seven years, Hermione Granger ran away from Ronald Weasley.


	4. Ron

Ron Weasley sat in his living room on what _used _to be a nice quiet Saturday afternoon, until Lavender had barged in, yelling at him. He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes at her, clearly annoyed at how his wife was nagging at him about the most ridiculous things. "I don't want to. Not today!" He said firmly one last time, ran up the stairs, and slammed his and her bedroom door behind him, leaving Lavender yelling and slamming things downstairs. Ron put his face in his hands and ran his calloused Quidditch Player hands through his clean-cut red hair. _I'm never letting Lavender boss me around about getting a haircut ever again. _

Grunting and mumbling to himself, he grabbed a piece of parchment from the bedside desk and scribbled:

_Harry (and Ginny),_

_Is it horrible that I'm starting to hate Lavender? _

_-Ron. _

He stared it over. It didn't sound right. He crumpled it up and threw it in the corner, missing the trash bin. He started another letter over, just to give him an excuse to stay in his room longer.

_Harry, mate, (and Ginny, if you're reading this)_

_Why did I ever get married to the dumbest witch of our age?_

_-Ron. _

Ron smirked and snickered slightly when he read it. Looking out of the window to see where Lavender's pesky owl Sonny was, he couldn't find him. But then he saw Hedwig, poking his head in and out of bushes. _Probably looking for mice. _"Hedwig." Ron whispered, trying to get the birds attention. "Pssst, Hedwig. Hedwig, you bloody bird, get over here." Hedwig blinked her beady eyes a few times, flew up to the window, and perched herself on the open windowsill. "I need you to take this to Harry."

Hedwig snapped at Ron's finger before taking the letter in her beak. She flew off down the street, right towards where Harry and Ginny lived.

Five minutes later and still no reply, Ron was getting impatient.

"Where are you going?" Lavender asked him when he went downstairs and grabbed his coat.

"I need air." Ron mumbled and before Lavender could start yelling at him, he was darting down the steps and down the street. Ron rounded past the corner where Harry and Ginny's house was. A piece of paper flew out of the window at his feet, and he read the same exact thing that he had written earlier:

_Harry, mate, (and Ginny if you're reading this)_

_Why did I ever get married to the dumbest witch our age?_

_-Ron. _

Either Harry is having his own problems today, or he really missed the trash bin, Ron thought. He let himself into his sister and almost-brother-in-law's house and barged through the kitchen, where he heard talking.

"SHE'S BLOODY INSANE!" He shouted and made his way towards the fridge, not noticing Harry's defeated groan and Ginny's eyes, which resembled a deer in the headlights. After he had helped himself to a butter beer from the fridge, he turned around to see not only Ginny and Harry, but a girl at the table. He raised his eyebrows at her and said, "I'm-I'm sorry, I don't believe we met. I would've remembered such a pretty face."

The girl opened and closed her mouth, then to Ron's surprise asked Ginny, "Ginny, dear, where's your bathroom?" Soon after, after giving Ron the weirdest look, a look all too familiar, she was bolting up the stairs and the slam of the bathroom door sounded.

"It's her." Ron stated the obvious bluntly, after he had thought of all the people he knew could only look like that. His only prediction, as shocking as it was, was Hermione. Ginny scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Of course it's her." She said. "You actually thought she wouldn't come back?"

Ron stood there, a million thoughts in his head. He mumbled something incoherent and then went up the same stairs Hermione just had.

"Actually," Harry said slowly, "He did."

_"Ron, you'll see her again someday. She'll come back, I know she will." Harry said assuring, but it didn't convince Ron, who was standing next to him in front of the last place they had seen Hermione- the kitchen in the burrow. Her cup that she had been drinking out of the night before no longer sat on top of the table. Her chair was not occupied by her petite body. Her sweet smile wasn't smiling back at him. He frowned, a deep, serious look on his face. _

_"Harry, if she left without telling us, how do we know she's going to come back and tell us _then_?"_

Now, seven years later, _seven bloody years later when Ron had "moved on", _she was back. _Timing really blows today_, Ron thought to himself as he stood in front of the bathroom door where she was inside. "Her…Hermione?" He asked hesitantly. It went quiet in the bathroom. There weren't anymore exasperated sighs. No more running water.

The door opened and Hermione stood there in front of him, her hair no longer pulled back, but fully everywhere, making her look radiant in a way. He had to remind himself to breathe. She looked up at him with apologetic eyes and…

_No_, Ron told himself, _That's not even a bit of longing_.

Hermione looked down when she couldn't take his stare anymore. He tipped her chin up to look back up at him again. "Are…are you okay…Hermione?" He whispered. She bit her lip and nodded.

"Why wouldn't I be?" She asked.

"You've been gone for quite a while and considering I didn't know what happened to you, I didn't know if you've been safe or not." Ron said it thoughtfully, caringly, which made Hermione be surprisingly happy to see him- he made her feel as if he actually cared that something hadn't happened to her. Harry and Ginny were still angry with her, even after they learned that she had been taken care of. "You really worried me. You still do."

"Well I um," Hermione paused. She didn't want to tell him yet. The charming way he was looking at her, with adoration, was too much. She didn't want him to stop looking at her like that. "You have nothing to worry about, Ronald, because for the past seven years I've been quite well."

_Ronald_. For the first time, Ron grinned when he was called 'Ronald' by Hermione.

"Even though I don't love Quidditch, I think I'll have to watch a few of your games." Hermione sat in the kitchen with Ginny, Harry, and Ron. "I've always been good at cheering. Remember at Hogwarts? Gryffindor games?"

"How can I forget? 'Weasley is our king'? Oh god, those were the days." Harry laughed.

"It's a true song, what can I say?" Ron laughed while Ginny and Hermione rolled their eyes.

"Looks like you've gotten cockier since I haven't been around, Ron." Hermione pointed out.

Ron shrugged. "I'm almost tied down."

Hermione was about to ask something when her- what Ginny and Ron recognized as- cell phone rang. She scanned the caller ID and frowned at it. "Excuse me for a moment."

"Well there obviously was nothing to be worried about. Looks like she was just fine while she was away." Ron said gladly. "Lavender is really getting to me, you two." He changed the subject swiftly, to what he meant to talk to Harry and Ginny earlier about. "Every night, she wants to…you know…or she's yelling at me, or nagging at me, or complaining about something stupid. Am I really that stupid to have married her? Was I really that dumb to not have asked-," Ron shut his mouth immediately when the kitchen door swung open and Hermione came back in.

"That was Rob." She said unenthusiastically, looking hesitant to even say his name around Ron. Ron looked at Harry and Ginny, expecting them to tell him who 'Rob' was, but instead of explaining, they were looking up at the ceiling or looking down at the floor.

"Who's Rob?" Ron asked finally.

Hermione cringed. "Well, he's um. I'm…" She paused, letting out a deep breath. "He's my fiancé. I'm getting married soon."

Ron tried not to grab his chest when he felt a fast flip of his heart, almost like it was traveling to his stomach. He stared at her. Ginny watched sadly as Ron's eyebrows knitted together, the news hitting him hard. But he didn't want to sound jealous, upset, or any emotion except happy for Hermione. So he raised his eyebrows; tried to smile, failing miserably, as low as his dignity was, currently; and staring straight at her, directly at her face into her eyes, he said;

"Congratulations. Rob is a lucky man." Hermione tried to say 'Thank you', but it came out as silence when she opened her mouth. "I better get home. Lavender was mad when I left, she'll probably be even madder at me, when I show up a few hours later. I'll-,"

"Ron, why don't you take the guest room?" Ginny offered. "We've got two extra bedrooms, beds all made, you know. You don't have to go back home to that rut."

Ron looked appreciative for a moment, but still politely declined. "I'm afraid she'll go mad with worrying. Or just go madd_er_." Ginny nodded. "So I'll see you all later. See you, Harry, Ginny." He stood up, level with Hermione now. "Bye Hermione." He whispered to her. She whispered back, "Bye." With his stomach still doing flips overwhelmingly, Ron was walking back down the street.

The pouring rain that was falling down on him was the only thing that had good timing that night, ironically; at that exact moment, Ron's feelings were draining out of him, just like the rain draining into the sewer holes.


	5. Repeatings

The next day, Hermione drove over to Ginny and Harry's for their full first day together. While Harry was at work for the first few hours of the day, Ginny and Hermione were shopping in London. Ginny still hadn't gotten the chance to ask Hermione about how she had taken the news that Ron was married. Harry had told her in bed, the night before, after Hermione had left, that she wasn't very shocked or mad or anything. Ginny wondered why. After all, Hermione had only been in love with the boy for over ten years, maybe more.

"Hermione, can I ask you something?" Ginny said as they stopped in front of a ring shop. Ginny remembered it as the one Harry had bought her engagement ring from.

"Ginny, you can ask me anything, you know that." Hermione said.

"When do you know you're in love? Like, real love?"

Hermione gave Ginny a quizzical look, then an alarmed, shocked one. "You're not…Ginny, you're not thinking that you're not in love with Harry anymore, are you?"

"Oh, no, of course not! I love Harry. I always have and I always will."

"Okay, then what are you asking for? You know what love is. You've been in it- you _are_ in it."

Ginny sighed. "I guess I do know. What I really want to ask, I guess, is…have you ever been in love before?"

Hermione clenched her jaw, tensing up. "Yes, I have been, Ginny."

Ginny looked at her and cocked her head to the side. "Are you in love, Hermione?"

Hermione gaped. "I..."

"OH MY, MERLIN, HERMIONE GRANGER?" A shrill was heard. Hermione had to grimace, due to its highness. She opened her eyes to see Lavender _Weasley_ (_my name has a better ring with that last name_, Hermione couldn't avoid thinking) standing in front of her with five billion shopping bags, all hung down her arms, a wide grin spread across her face. "I didn't know you were back! Oh my goodness, it is so nice to see you!" Lavender tried to hug Hermione. Hermione was nearly toppled down by all of the bags.

"Hi Lavender. How are you?" Hermione asked as politely as she could.

"I'm great, really! Yourself?"

"Oh, I've been..." Hermione imagined what would happen if she said "better". Then she could actually tell the truth to somebody. She could scream and rip all of Lavender's shopping bags apart. Maybe even this ugly little dress that was peeking out of one of the bags currently. But Hermione stopped smirking at her daydream and finished;

"I've been excellent."

Lavender smiled. Hermione of course didn't let her true emotions show, and smiled too. Ginny, who had been glaring at Lavender, finally sighed and said to Hermione, "We really should get going, Hermione. Lots more shopping to do. See you later, Lavender."

"THERE'S A SALE DOWN AT MADEMOISELLE'S FASHIONS FOR LADIES, BE SURE TO STOP THERE!" Lavender shouted down the road to Hermione and Ginny, both of whom were now walking as fast as they could. Hermione raised her hand up to show that she had unfortunately heard her, and Ginny slapped it down.

"What are you doing?" Ginny hissed.

"Well she wouldn't leave us alone without being assured that we knew about the clearance prices, would she? If I showed her that-,"

"No, not that!"

"Well then what did I do?"

"You were being _nice_ to her!"

"So? I'm a nice person most of the time. And I was feeling nice today, so I decided to be nice to her."

"But you shouldn't have been! Why be nice to her when she took your..." Ginny hesitated. Should she say it? If she did, she feared that Hermione would leave again. Would she get mad at her? Would she admit all of her feelings? Would she...

"When she took my _what_, Ginny?" Hermione asked, peering down at the younger girl. Her eyes showed she was worried. She swallowed hard and stared hopefully at Ginny, hoping she wouldn't finish. She couldn't confess all of her feelings yet. If she said them out in the open, that would mean she'd really believe them then. Maybe if she kept her thoughts about him to herself, they would disappear. But then again, she had been doing exactly that for the past years; they still hadn't gone away.

Ginny sighed. "Nothing." She shook her head. "She...didn't take anything."

With that done, the two girls quietly walked down the streets of London.

Harry was sitting at the bar at a local pub on his lunch break, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He quickly turned to find Ron, pulling out a chair next to him. "Scared me." Harry said, then sipped some of his drink.

"Sorry." Ron said. "One butterbeer, please." He said to the bar tender.

"What's with the non-alcohol drinks lately?" Harry asked Ron.

Ron shrugged. "It's not like I used to drink alcohol _that _much, Harry."

Harry tried not to scoff. "It's okay, now, you know, to admit that you used to drink constantly."

"Okay, so I used to. I don't anymore, though, and that's the point." Ron said, looking down at the butterbeer in front of him.

"Yeah, that's the point. Why the sudden not-drinking?" Harry asked.

Ron looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "You're implying something."

"I'm only implying something if you think I'm implying something."

"Well then you're implying something."

"What would I be implying?"

"It's not a what, it's a who. You're implying somebody."

"Okay then, who am I supposed to be implying about?"

"Hermione."

"Brilliant, Sherlock."

"Who?"

"Never mind, it's a muggle thing."

"Oh."

The two were quiet again. Ron took this opportunity to change the subject. "Nervous about the wedding?" He asked Harry.

"As hell." Harry said.

"Perfectly understandable. I was nervous about getting married to Lavender. It's such a commitment."

"Yeah. I love Ginny, completely. But then you think about all of the things you won't be able to do and you ask yourself 'Is it worth it?'."

"It almost sounds like you're backing out, mate." Ron said, his voice hardening.

Harry laughed. "No, no, no. I'm going to marry her. If I didn't, I think I'd die."

Ron smiled and clamped a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Oh, hell, I've got to go. My lunch break was over about a half-hour ago. Coach is gonna kill me." Harry said.

"Just threaten to leave the team, if he threatens to kick you off. Then you can tell all the tabloids you quit, you didn't get fired."

Harry laughed and shoved some money to the bartender. "See you later, mate. Dinner tonight? Ginny's making your favorite I'm pretty sure."

"Yeah, sure. Not like Lavender can cook anything. I think I broke a tooth the other day, trying to eat her meatloaf." Ron shouted towards the door as Harry left, while laughing. He turned back towards the bar. "Can I get a beer?"

"Where's Ron?" Ginny asked for what must've been the fifth time that night. As if her question was a cue for him to walk in, Ron stumbled slightly into the kitchen. All three of the people who had just been eating dinner peacefully, now looked alarmed.

"Ron?" Harry said. "Ron, are you okay?"

Ron groaned and slammed a beer down on the table. "STOP YELLING!"

"Ron, where have you been?" Ginny asked.

"It's pretty obvious, Ginny! He's been at the bar, drinking, ever since we had lunch there today!" Harry waved his hands in frustration. Ron groaned again and covered his eyes.

"Ron...Ron, look at me." Hermione said quietly. He snorted underneath his hands and shook his head. "Ronald, _look_ at me."

"NO!" Ron shouted, taking his hands away from his face.

"Stop acting like a two year old and talk to me like you're your age." Hermione hissed, getting impatient.

"Why the hell would I want to talk to you?"

Hermione looked hurt, but still looked determined to get him to calm down. "Harry or Ginny, can I talk to you in the living room for a second?"

Harry nodded. "Ginny, you stay in here with your brother." Ginny nodded. Harry followed Hermione out of the kitchen into the living room.

"Has he ever been drunk before?" Hermione asked him. Harry nodded. "When, and how many times?"

"He...used to get drunk, a lot, countless times, the first few months after you...left."

Hermione gaped. She shook her head and closed her eyes. "Why?"

"I'll tell you why." Ron slurred from the doorway. Ginny stood next to him, defeated. "You _left_. You _left_ and you never came _back_. You made me marry _her_ and I didn't _wanna_ marry her. I didn't _love _her, and I _don't love _her. But I didn't wanna be _alone_. And you were _gone _and you had _left_ me. And I wanted to _tell _you. I was going to _tell _you, but I...I _didn't_! And now it doesn't _matter_! If I told you what I-I wanted to tell you, it wouldn't _matter_, because you've...you're...it doesn't _matter_...I want to tell you now, I think I'll..." Ron repeated himself, over and over, like a little child searching for words. He hit the door, frustrated.

"What were you going to tell me, Ron?" Hermione asked soothingly, now standing in front of him. Ron didn't say anything. Hermione lifted his chin so they were face to face. "Ron, tell me what you were going to say."

Ron batted her hand out from underneath his chin, and looked down at the ground, breathing hard. He looked up at her again, his eyes blazing in a way that made Harry want to step in front of Hermione protectively, as if Ron was going to hurt her. The room was quiet, all until Ron spoke.

"I hate you." He whispered, not slurring anymore. Ginny gasped, and Harry clenched his hands into fists. Hermione felt a tug at her heart and tears well up into her eyes. She was not going to cry, she told herself.

"Get out, Ron." Harry said coldly. Ron looked over Hermione's shoulder at Harry.

"What?" He must not have heard correctly.

"Get out, right now. I don't want to do anything to you that I'll regret later on." Harry repeated.

Ron brushed past Hermione forcefully. He looked around to all of them, anger etched on his face. But his expression softened when he saw Hermione...a tear had made its way down her cheek.

_What have I done? _He thought to himself before shutting the door behind him, and setting off into the cold night.


	6. Surprise Visits

"Hermione, is there something wrong?" Rob asked beside her in the bed. Hermione didn't move, she just kept her eyes on her book. "Hermione?"

"Huh?" Hermione jerked her head towards his.

"Are you alright?" Rob asked again.

"I'm fine." Hermione mumbled. "Why do you ask?"

"You've only stayed on that page for the past, I don't know, ten minutes. Normally you can read a whole _book _in ten minutes." Rob laughed half-heartedly.

Hermione managed to smile. "I'm sorry, I've just been thinking a lot about...the friends that I've finally caught up with. I told you that I bumped into an old friend the other day in London, right?"

"Yeah. You never told me who, though."

"Harry Potter."

Rob gaped. "Harry Potter?"

"Yes, Harry Potter. Why is that such a big deal?"

"You were friends with Harry Potter."

"Correction, I still _am_ friends with Harry Potter." Hermione said, now flipping a page of her book.

"Bloody hell." Rob muttered. "Why are you friends with _him_?"

"Excuse me?" Hermione put down her book and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I don't mean it like that. I didn't mean it like that." Rob quickly said.

"Sure sounded like you did. What's so wrong with him?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing." Rob sighed. "Nothing at all."

"I'm going to sleep."

"Alright." It was quiet as Rob sat there in bed, doing absolutely nothing, while Hermione rolled over, the covers up to her chin. "Hermione?"

"What?"

"Can you shut out the light? I'm too lazy to get up."

"Fine." Hermione grabbed her wand off of the nightstand. "Intercludo Light." She mumbled, pointing her wand at the light over the bed.

"Thank you."

_Pound. Pound. Pound. _Ginny tried to ignore the heavy knocking at the front door but it was really starting to get on her nerves. Who would be that insistent, in coming into her house, at...1:30 in the morning? Harry was still fast asleep it seemed, or so Ginny thought, until he said, "I'll go get it." He grabbed his wand off of the nightstand and stuck it inside his boxer pockets. Ginny grabbed her wand just incase.

Harry looked through the peep hole first to see who it was. He opened the door slowly, to see Ron standing there, nervously stepping from foot to foot. He looked quite sober again; He wasn't pouting and his eyes were blank looking, and to put it simply, he looked quite exhausted. Harry motioned for him to come inside.

"Better now?" He asked Ron, once they were in the kitchen. He pushed a mug of coffee towards him, but Ron didn't take it.

"Yes." He said quietly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't do it again." Harry said sternly. "You scared the crap out of us. It hasn't gotten that bad before."

"That's because _she's_ never been here when it's happened." Ron said.

Harry turned to look at him. "You're blaming it on Hermione."

"I know. It's her fault, technically, but it's mostly mine. If she hadn't left, I wouldn't have become a…you know. But then again, it was my choice to pick up that bottle of intense alcohol and shove it down my throat, and never stop until finally I didn't think she would come back. But she did come back. And for some unknown reason, I drank a few glasses of beer.

It cleared my mind. The bartender kicked me out cause I was 'drinking too much' according to him. He was right. Then I remembered that I had to go to your house for dinner. So as you know, I came over here. And I made a mess. I screwed up. I yelled at her. I told her, didn't I…I told her…" Ron put his face in his hands and ran his hands through his hair.

"You told her the exact opposite of something she's wanted to hear for the past fifteen years." Harry said.

"I know! I screwed up so bad. I left, just like you told me to, without even apologizing-,"

"You were drunk, Ron, you didn't know how to apologize."

"Still doesn't make things right. I went home. Lavender was awake, she asked where'd I been, and I told her. We argued for a long time. It was the last time, because she wants a divorce, Harry. She wants out." Ron barely could say the last few words. Harry brought Ginny down so Ron could tell her. She hugged her brother tight, and soon, dawn approached.

Just as Ginny was making Ron a bed in the guest room, an owl pecked on the window until it opened. She flew inside and onto the bedpost, where she held up her leg with a letter attached to it. "You're too smart." Ginny sighed. She opened the envelope and began to read the letter.

_Dear Ginny, _

_AS you probably know, my future ex husband and I are getting a divorce. This is such terrible timing, I know, as you and Harry have a wedding planned soon, and Ron and I are supposed to be walking down the aisle together as a bridesmaid and grooms men, or whatever they're called. The point is that I want nothing to do with Ron after, well, starting now, which will mean I won't be going to the wedding with him. Sorry for the trouble. _

_Sincerely, _

_Lavender Brown_

_P.s. Marriage sucks, and I think you're making a mistake. _

Ginny, horrified, read the letter over and over. The wedding was only in a few months, what was she supposed to do? She had run out of friends to pick for bridesmaids! She ran downstairs to where Harry and Ron were.

"RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY, YOU _GIT_!" Ginny shouted, pushing her brother, making him fall off of his chair.

"What did I do now?" Ron asked.

"Lavender owled me, said she will not be attending the wedding, because YOU'RE going to be there."

Harry and Ron exchanged glances. "So?" Ron asked.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?"

"You should be happy she's not going. She would've tried to steal the spotlight from you. She's always been such a drama queen, she probably would want all the attention her, even if it was your wedding day." Ron said reasonably.

"I WOULD RATHER HAVE THAT INSTEAD OF MORE GROOMSMEN THAN BRIDESMAIDS!" Ginny shouted.

"Well it's not my bloody fault she backed out. _She's_ the one who wanted the divorce."

Ginny let out a wail and dramatically fell onto the couch. "Why can't I just get married and live to tell about it? WHY?"

"Sweetie, this will all get worked out. I'm sure you have a replacement bridesmaid. You have a ton of friends. What about that one from the office? That Lucy girl?" Harry said soothingly, but Ginny didn't cool down.

"That's a man, actually."

"Oh. Uh, what about Siren?"

"She screams and pouts too much."

"Kate?"

"Ha! As if I'd ever let her be one of my bridesmaids, let alone invite her to my wedding."

"Well there has to be more people, I'm sure." Ron said.

"Like who?" All three sat in silence, thinking to themselves. Ginny squeaked. "I'VE GOT IT!" She cast a suspicious glance at Harry and Ron, then suddenly darted up the stairs.

"I'm scared, Ron." Harry said.

"Trust me, mate. If you think _that_ was scary, just wait until she's pregnant." Ron patted Harry on the shoulder.

"I don't know, Ginny. He sounded like he meant what he said last night." Hermione said, opposite Ginny in a restaurant Ginny had floo'd them to for lunch. When Ginny had told Hermione that Lavender was divorcing Ron, she thought she had seen a bit of a smile from Hermione, but Hermione quickly composed herself to say, "Oh, really? Well that's interesting."

"He didn't, I swear." Ginny now said. "And even if he did mean it, you two wouldn't have to do much. Just walk next to each other, pose next to each other in the pictures, and dance together. That's all, that's it, then you can go back to hating each other."

"I don't hate him. I could never hate him. If there's anybody who hates anybody, _he_ hates _me_."

"Stop saying that! I've told you a million times, he doesn't hate you! He was drunk, people say things they don't mean when they're drunk."

"I don't believe you."

"Well if you don't believe me, then maybe you should just see it for yourself." Ginny grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her back to the fireplace. The two were back in Ginny's living room in an instant. "He's here, and you two are going to talk, because you need to do this for me, and get this cleared up."

Hermione groaned, while Ginny pulled her to the kitchen. "Ginny, I don't want-,"

The boys stopped their talking and looked to the girls in the kitchen doorway.

"Well you're sure home early." Harry said half-heartedly, trying to ease the tension that was building up in the room. Ron wouldn't stop staring at his coffee, and Hermione awkwardly stared at Harry.

"They need to talk." Ginny said bluntly. "Come on." She grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him out of the room, leaving Hermione and Ron alone.

"Hermione, I'm sorry."

"Are you sure you actually mean it?" Hermione asked.

Ron sighed exasperatedly. "Yes. I really do. I didn't mean anything I said last night. I'm sorry if I hurt you. I've never hated you, I could never hate you. And...I'm sorry that you had to find out that I became a...a drunk, after you left. It was such a shock, though, that I had to have something to help me get through it."

Hermione stared at him, not smiling, not frowning, just staring. "I forgive you."

They both said nothing. Harry and Ginny came back into the room.

"Well it's good to know you guys haven't bitten each others heads off." Ginny said brightly.

"Yet." Hermione said and clamped her hand over her mouth after saying it.

Ron gave her a puzzled look. "What do you mean 'yet'?"

"Well..." Hermione started in her usual Hermione-Knows-All voice. "You know how we're going to be at this wedding, together, don't you?" Ron nodded. "Well...we're going to have to dance. And I remember the last time I saw you dance, Ronald, and it wasn't very pretty. If you step on my foot, just one time, I'll bite your head off." She smirked.

Ron rolled his eyes, smiling, while Harry and Ginny laughed, relieved.

"Well actually, you won't have to worry about him stepping on your feet, Hermione, because DANCE LESSONS start on Wednesday!" Ginny said cheerily. Harry half-groaned, while Ron _completely _groaned.

"Oh come on, stop being such babies. It's just dancing. It's easy." Hermione said, shrugging.

But a week later, Hermione found that doing the right steps, keeping the rhythm, and "feeling the music" was quite hard to do at the same time. Even Ron was better than her, which was terribly disappointing to her. She had never been beaten by Ronald Weasley in something before.

"You must dance with emotion- you must _feel_!" The dance instructor, Lane, said on a Saturday afternoon, when Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron, were all dancing to the choreography set for the Brides and Groom's court. "You must feel the music like you feel fruits in the grocery store! You do not want the bruised ones! You want the ripe, fresh ones! Yes, that is what I want! I want more of THAT!" Lane pointed to Ron, who was easily leading Hermione around while doing the waltz. "Box turn, my dear, box turn! NO, NO, NO!" Lane stopped the music and rounded on Hermione. "You are a bruised banana!"

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked, appalled.

"BA-NA-NA. You dance like one! Here he is, this gentleman," Lane said, referring to Ron in a way that made him seem like a god, "And here you are, a banana. BANANA'S DO NOT DANCE WITH GENTLEMEN! _Ladies _dance with gentlemen. YOU _must _be a LADY!" She clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth. "We must take five, I am getting headache." She said in her pure spanish accent. Hermione, frustrated, crossed her arms over her chest and walked out of the room. What she didn't expect to find (or who, rather), was Rob, sitting there in a chair in the waiting area.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. She pushed away the annoyed tone in her voice. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"I got the day off, so I thought I would come see you dance. Is that alright?"

"Oh, god, Rob." Hermione put a hand over her eyes. She sat down next to him and chugged some water. "I'm terrible at this, I don't want you to see me stumbling all over the place."

"I'm sure you're better than your partner. You're better than most people at mostly everything."

"I'm actually a pretty good dancer, thank you." Ron said from the doorway.

Hermione looked between Ron and Rob. _Well this is awkward, _she thought. The two men were staring at each other, one with slightly narrowed eyes, and the other with suspicious eyes.

"You're Ron Weasley." Rob said.

"Yeah, and you are?" Ron asked, even though he knew who this was. The way he was positioned next to Hermione told him who this was. Ron had the sudden urge to go over and punch Rob, then snog Hermione.

"Rob Artemis, I'm Hermione's fiancé." Rob said. Neither of the men extended out a hand for a warm handshake, but instead decided to stare at each other intensely.

"Hermione, break is over." Harry came out of the room this time, along with Ginny. He looked curiously at Rob. "Hi."

"Hey." Rob said. "You're Harry Potter, I assume." Hermione wondered how Rob knew that- after Harry had defeated Voldemort, his famous trademark scar had faded dramatically. Unless you were up close to Harry, the scar was barely visible. The memory of what happened the other night- talking about who Hermione had run into, in London- came back to her, and she looked at Rob to see how he was surveying Harry. He looked the same, except his blue eyes were scanning Harry over. He stopped and Hermione didn't want to see it, but almost saw a bit of disgust go over his face.

"Yes, and you're..." Harry saw how close this man was sitting next to Hermione and looked him up and down. "You must be Rob."

"Oh, yeah, so Hermione told you about me." Rob said confidently.

Harry nodded and shrugged. "Yeah. You're her plumber, right?" He laughed at his own joke, and Hermione laughed a little nervously. Rob laughed a few seconds after the joke was made.

"Most plumbers don't marry their customer." Rob tried to joke back, but didn't get such a warm laugh from Harry. Hermione giggled a fake-giggle. The laughter died down in sighs.

"Okay, well, we have to get back to dancing." Ginny, who hadn't said anything at all, finally spoke up. Her voice wasn't directed towards Rob- in fact, she had ignored him the whole time they were standing there, talking.

"Nice meeting you, Rob." Harry said. "See you later." Ron nodded to Rob before disappearing back into the room. Harry and Ginny followed.

"I have to get back in there. I need a lot of work for the wedding." Hermione said, getting up. "I'll see you at the house?"

"Yeah, I'll pick you up at eight?" Rob asked, also getting up.

"Yeah, that would be nice." Hermione nodded. She looked sideways into the room and saw Ron looking at her and Rob.

"Alright, so I'll see you then." Rob said. He hugged Hermione, and kissed her longer than he normally would in public. Hermione wondered why this was, but didn't worry about it.

"See you." Hermione said, and she walked back into the dance room to begin stumbling over her feet again.


	7. Mrs Weasley's Misinterpretations

"Just twirl, Hermione. It's simple." Ron was saying, as they both practiced later in Ron's room at Harry and Ginny's house. After Hermione had said goodbye to Rob, she went back into the dance room, but only to get yelled at by Lane to practice more ("You must practice with this wonderful man! He's got rhythm, you do not! You shall learn from him, tonight!").

So Ron and Hermione drove back to Harry and Ginny's. The car ride seemed painful for Ron- he seemed distracted, obviously deep in thought about something. Hermione noticed that this behavior started _after _Rob had showed up at dance practice, but she tried not to blame his distantness on that incident. Now, a half-hour later, they stood there in Ron's bedroom to dance some more; Hermione hated him for being so gosh darn perfect at it- naturally, being one of the brightest witch's of her age, she hated being beat at something. But his hands were comforting her, enclosing hers. However, they were having a disagreement over Hermione's twirl ability. It wasn't _her _fault, she thought, that she couldn't.

"I can't!" Hermione said, trying to get a comfortable grip of Ron's hand. "You're squeezing my hand too much; you need to let it go a bit so I can actually do a full twirl!"

"I'm holding your hand quite loosely, _Hermione_!" Ron said impatiently.

"No, you're not, _Ronald_!"

"Well maybe if your hair wasn't so everywhere whenever we try to twirl, I could actually see! Maybe it's your fault that you can't twirl!"

"What does _seeing_ have anything to do with _twirling_?" Hermione asked, confused.

"Nothing, actually. I'm just trying to win this argument." Ron admitted

"You know you can't."

"I think I can!"

"You've never won an argument since, hm, ever!"

"Well you haven't won an argument since...since..." Ron tried to search for a good comeback. Hermione laughed. "It's not funny." Ron muttered.

"You're right, it's not." Hermione said, mocking seriousness but trying to hide her fit of giggles.

"What was that? Did you just say that I'm right?"

"Oh, stop it."

"I think that means I win."

"No, you don't. It wasn't funny- it was cute."

"Kind of like you."

Hermione stopped the twirl she had unknowingly finally accomplished doing when he said this, which led her to standing right in front of Ron. One hand still stayed in the air, in the palm of Ron's loosened hand, while her other hand laid on his chest. She looked up to meet his eyes. He was red, blushing. Hermione found it endearing, just like she used to. She found his eyes endearing, too. His red hair was more endearing than it ever had been before. _God, everything's so endearing. _

And suddenly, his lips were so...perfect, so inviting, that she found herself coming in close contact with them. They were so close. They were almost there. A few more centimeters seemed such a long distance. And then...

"Hermione, Rob's here to..." Ginny stopped in mid-sentence after she had swung open the bedroom door, when she saw the compromising position Ron and Hermione were in.

Hermione quickly tore herself away from Ron. "Yes, Ginny?"

"Rob's here to pick you up." Ginny said, suddenly sounding disappointed.

"Oh, okay. I have to get going then. We'll practice tomorrow, okay, Ron?" Hermione turned back to Ron, who was glaring at the ground.

"Huh? Oh...yeah, of course." He said.

Hermione smiled and said bye to Ginny, then slipped out of the door.

Ginny watched her go down the stairs, and when she was gone, she turned back to Ron, who was now glaring at her.

"He's uh...got a nice car." Ginny said, nodding. Ron chucked a pillow at her, in which she dodged. She slammed the door shut, and he fell back onto the bed, groaning.

_Dementors take me now. _

"Ron?" Harry came down to the bottom of the stairs. He saw the figure in front of the lit fireplace turn. The time was close to midnight and Harry was wondering why Ron was up so late.

"Hey, Harry." Ron said, sounding very disgruntled.

"What are you doing down here?"

"I erm...couldn't sleep."

"Ahhh." Harry said to himself, knowingly. "Certain brunette keeping you up?"

"...Maybe." Ron half-admitted.

"I know you've been up late before, thinking about her, but this is later than usual. Did something happen with her today?"

Ron sighed. He sat down on the couch, next to Harry, and looked mindlessly into the fire. "Well...yeah."

"Are you going to tell me?" Harry asked after Ron didn't continue.

"Yeah, I guess. It's driving me crazy, I really need to tell somebody..."

"Okay, so what happened?"

Ron sighed. "We almost kissed, Harry." Ron looked over at Harry to see his reaction but was surprised to see his friend looking quite humble.

"Almost?"

"Almost. We were dancing, and, well, the dancing led to flirting, and the flirting led to...almost kissing. But Ginny walked in on us, right as we were about to. She said that Rob was here to pick up Hermione, so Hermione left, and we never got to...to...well, you know."

"Ahhh." Harry once again said, and Ron glared at him.

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"That 'Ahhhh' thing."

"Ah, okay."

"Anyways," Ron ignored Harry's newfound silliness, "I just haven't stopped thinking about it. I mean, obviously."

Harry nodded, serious all of a sudden. "You're wondering what it would've been like...aren't you?"

Ron scoffed and nodded. "Damn right I am."

"It would've been amazing, you're thinking."

"It would've been."

"You two would've been in there for a while."

"We probably would've been."

"Until you two would remember that she's engaged."

Ron looked up and sighed. "Yeah, that would be the only fault in that kiss." He slouched down on the couch. "There's something not right about him, Harry."

"Look, Ron, I know he might not have been the friendliest bloke ever earlier, but he wasn't like, death eater material. I personally think that you don't like the guy because he's...you know, marrying Hermione."

"Yeah, you're probably right. But let me ask you this, Harry..." Ron said.

"Alright, shoot." Harry said, and he stood up and walked to the staircase.

"You know how Hermione was like a sister to you, right?" Ron asked. Harry turned around to face Ron, and nodded. "Well, you used to like to judge the guys she was seeing at the time. Do you still do that?"

Harry shrugged. "I've only just caught up with her, Ron, and she's a woman now."

"Trust me, I've realized that." Ron muttered. She's not fourteen anymore. I think she can make responsible choices without me having to question them."

"But let's pretend you still did...How do you feel about her marrying Rob?"

"Ron, I can't answer that. I don't know the guy, it's not fair."

"Don't pretend you haven't judged before." Ron cut in. "From meeting him today, from your first impression of him, do you approve of him for Hermione?"

Harry thought serious about it for a second. He shook his head. "No."

"Why not?"

Harry grinned lopsidedly. "Because he's not you, mate."

Eventually, Ron fell into a deep sleep on the couch. Harry had told Ginny to let him sleep until whenever he wanted to wake up. Ginny was reluctant about listening to her husband because of the busy day they were supposed to have, once again; The Weasley's were coming to dinner, and Ginny always liked to impress her family (especially her mum) with how clean of a house she had, or how great of a cook she was. But the one thing that she really wanted to wow everybody about was that she had Hermione Granger coming for dinner.

Her family had been equally disappointed as Harry and Ginny were (maybe not quite as much as Ron), when they found out Hermione was gone and wasn't going to come back. Think how thrilled they'll be, to find out that Hermione was actually in Ginny and Harry's house, eating dinner at _their_ table!

"Do you want to get Hermione over here to help cleaning?" Harry asked.

Ginny gaped at him. "And why would we do that? She's going to be our _guest_, Harry, and guests do not _clean_. Did mum teach you nothing when you stayed at the burrow in the summers and Christmas?"

"Actually," Harry said, "I offered to clean and she was always insistent that I didn't. So she showed me a few charms that are simple cleaning charms. I'm pretty sure she taught you them too."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "That's not the point. I mean, sure, Hermione could be of great help right about now but I'm not going to call her and actually ask her to come over here and dust with us!"

"Who said anything about dusting? I don't see any dust."

"Dust is sneaky, it can be everywhere and anywhere, and _TODAY_ we are going _EVERYWHERE_ to be sure that we get rid of every dust mite in the house. I'm not just talking about visible areas, either. I'm talking about places that are rarely ever seen by the eye, but still need to be cleaned. You remember the last time Mum was over here, don't you? She found a piece of dust in a little corner that I missed, and I was mad at myself the whole night- she had to get a duster, don't you remember? And then she cleaned, _cleaned my house_, when was a _guest_. But that's not going to happen tonight- tonight, this house will be cleaned until you can see your reflection on the tabletops!"

Clapping came from the doorway of the kitchen. "That was a great speech, Ginny, how long did you work on it?" Hermione said, standing there in her coat. Her hair was pulled back nicely and she had natural-looking makeup on. Harry thought she was just stopping by for a few minutes, before going to a special occasion.

"Hermione, what are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here for another," Ginny checked the clock, "seven hours!"

"Oh, sorry, I just...I wanted to come and help if I could, with anything, getting ready for tonight's dinner that I am _SO_ excited about! Not that this place needs help with cooking, or cleaning. Ginny, you have this place pretty clean as it is, and Harry, you're a wonderful cook." Hermione said, bouncing around the kitchen from cabinet to cabinet. "Where're your latex cleaning gloves?"

Harry grew a smirk on his face and looked to Ginny. "Two cabinets to the right." He said cockily.

Ginny sulked but then heaved a giant sigh. "Alright, I guess we could use your help around here. I'm going to go wake up Ron, so we can put him to work too."

"He's already awake," Hermione said, while looking for rags, "I woke him up when I saw him in the living room. He's in a rather good mood."

"Wonder why." Harry muttered under his breath. Of course Ron would be happy everyday, if Hermione woke him up.

"What was that, Harry?" Hermione asked, for she seriously did not hear him.

"Nothing." He smirked again. Hermione gave Ginny a questioning look that clearly said, '_What is wrong with your husband?'..._ Ginny shrugged.

Ron came down the stairs while Harry, Ginny, and Hermione were eating lunch. "Morning, everybody!" He said cheerfully.

"Good morning, Ron!" Hermione said, just as bright as he had.

Harry and Ginny exchanged glances that were a mix between confused and amused. "Sleep well, mate?" Harry asked him.

"Oh yeah, real well." Ron said, waving his wand to make himself a sandwich. "I would've slept the whole day if Hermione hadn't woken me up." He smiled.

"It's a good thing she did, too." Ginny said. "We've got company coming at around seven, Ron, and you need to help Hermione and I clean."

"Oh do I have to?" Ron groaned, the feeling of a great new day started, already gone.

"It's part of the deal of living here. Harry and I are not your maids, we're not going to clean up your bedroom for you, and since you now live with us, you help with the cleaning too." Ginny said.

"Yes, Mum." Ron said sarcastically. Ginny threw him a glare that startlingly could've really been their Mum's, and so he shut up.

"She's going to be here tonight, along with Dad, Percy, George, and maybe Bill and Fleur but I'm not so sure about the last pair. They've been really busy with Dominique."

"There's another person, too, that might be coming." Hermione said.

"Who else?" Ron asked.

"Well, actually, I hope its okay but I...I invited Rob. He wanted to get a chance to talk with you again, Harry, and he didn't get the chance to say much to you, either, Ginny." Hermione said, nervously looking at them all.

Ginny was definitely not okay with the fact that the git named Rob was coming to dinner, but being as polite as she was, she said, "Yeah, that's fine." And she ignored the intruding anger on Ron's face.

Ron was sulking on the couch when Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley arrived. After Ginny and Harry greeted them, and Ginny took their coats, Mrs. Weasley bustled up to Ron and hugged him tight. "Oh, my dear boy, my poor dear boy," She squeezed him and let him go, holding him out in front of her with a sympathetic look on her face. "I'm sorry you had to put up with that insane woman for the past few years. I'm sorry you have to go through the divorce with her. Just know that if you ever need to talk, you can always pop into the burrow's fireplace, and I'll make you some nice pound cake, how does that sound? If you ever feel sad, just think about those you love and you can cheer right up, can't you? Remember the ones who love you, Ron, don't let them get away. Lavender wasn't well, really, if you think about it, and she wasn't right for you, you can do so much better than her. I remember, back in Hogwarts, when I lost one of my boyfriends, he said he wanted to break up, and I was heartbroken for weeks, but then I remembered that I had your father, and I started depending on your father, and now, so many, many years later, I'm happily bound to him for life, even through his craziest times when I want to strangle him so bad but I can't do that, because then I would be sent to Azkaban and somebody needs to watch out for him, make sure he doesn't get into any trouble with the ministry, and nobody but I can make sure of that, and-,"

"Mum, I'm not sad because of Lavender. I already have somebody else, I think." Ron muttered. Mrs. Weasley gave him a confused look. She opened her mouth to ask something but then-

"Ron, I put your shirt in the dirty clothes, thanks for letting me borrow it." Hermione said from the foot of the stairs. Mrs. Weasley squinted at her.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?" She asked Hermione, scanning her over.

"Mrs. Weasley, it's me- Hermione."

Mrs. Weasley looked stunned. She glanced from Ron to Hermione, back to Ron, then again to Hermione. "Is it...really...her, Ron?" Mrs. Weasley asked Ron as if Hermione wasn't there.

"It's really her, mum. Thanks, Hermione, for taking care of the shirt." Ron said appreciatively.

"WAIT A SECOND!" Mrs. Weasley shouted. "You said you've found somebody else, Ronald, but I didn't expect it to be our dear Hermione! I mean, I used to, but after she left, I never expected to see her again! But I did! She's here! She's here and she's almost my daughter-in-law, oh, this is wonderful!" She beamed and walked up to Hermione. The older lady hugged the younger girl tightly, laughing and crying.

"Erm...Mum..." Ron started, turning red with embarrassment.

Hermione looked embarrassed, as well, but she still laughed with Mrs. Weasley. Mrs. Weasley took Hermione's hands and when she saw the big engagement ring on her hand, Mrs. Weasley stopped laughing. She gasped. "What's this?" She asked. "Is this what I think it is? A ring on your ring finger? Does this mean- are you two really- you two are already- but RON, you JUST got out of a _MARRIAGE_!" She yelled, vividly angry all of a sudden.

"MUM, I'M NOT EVEN _DATING_ HERMIONE!" Ron shouted ridiculously.

"Oh." Mrs. Weasley said quietly, blinking. She turned to Hermione. "Well then..." She cleared her throat. "Hermione, dear, how have you been?"


	8. A very important note from the author!

**A note from me, the author**

Wow, it's been such a long time that I've updated! I know I promised to update when I had 30 reviews- now I've got 38, going on 40! I'm very sorry for not updating but here's my excuse which is fairly reasonable: my laptop which has ALL of the chapters on the computer, including the chapter that I need to update with, has died. Completely, really died. The batteries have no more juice left in them and the charger cord won't work. What am I supposed to do?! I'll tell you what I'm going to do!: I'm going to update next time with TWO new chapters for you all! There's a treat, right? After all, I've made you wait an awful long time already! Please try to understand this situation, and I'm really sorry about it. Please don't give up hope that I'm never going to update again! I really appreciate you all reading.

-brit


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